DELLA MAE WILLIAMS

Della Mae Williams was born on August 7, 1955, in Dallas, Texas, the daughter of Caldwell Trevis Williams and Mary Irene Richard. Raised primarily by her grandmother Beulah Richard in South Dallas, Della attended Dallas Public Schools. As a teenager, Della was taken in by the Murrays, a Christian family, and it was while living with them that she began attending Full Gospel Holy Temple Church in Dallas. It was in that household and church that Della came to faith in Christ by trusting Jesus as her Savior. Over the course of her adult life, Della worked various jobs to provide for and support herself until she became physically disabled due to illness. In 2009 Della moved to the Valley Trails Apartments in Irving, TX, and then began attending MacArthur Blvd Baptist Church in Irving. Upon joining MBBC in December of 2010, Della was welcomed and deeply loved by all who met her and came to know her. In 2011, having been declared legally blind, Della was awarded a guide dog, Victory, whom everyone came to love as an extension of Ms. Della. (Victory remains an honorary member of MBBC, as he now resides with the Taynes.) More recently, in 2020, Della moved to Las Brisas Assisted Living Community, where she could receive skilled nursing care. Affectionately known as “Ms. Della”, she was a faithful example of a woman who loved God and who loved the people of God! Ms. Della always had a gracious smile on her face and a kind word to say anytime she spoke. She faithfully attended church and remained engaged in ministry as often as she could until her health reached a point where she was not able to physically be present. But even then, she remained involved by listening to the service online or having a sister place a cell phone on the altar close to the pulpit with the line open so she could hear the sermon. Beyond that, she remained in close fellowship with her pastors and other brothers and sisters in the church, and especially a group of her sisters known as the Kingdom Women. While her health and physical challenges were many, Ms. Della was never one to complain and almost always exuded the joy of the Lord. To put it bluntly, Ms. Della was the epitome of a Kingdom Woman! Certainly, Ms. Della will be sorely missed but she leaves a great example of what it means to be a woman of God, along with fond memories of all the things that she dearly loved – Her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, hearing the preached Word of God, her church family, and the fellowship of the saints while eating good food! In fact, one of her nicknames recently mentioned by her niece Barbara was “Piggs” because everyone knew she loved to eat. Finally, while she had no children of her own, Ms. Della’s love for children was second to none. She exemplified her love by serving three years in the Awana ministry at MBBC. To be sure, children absolutely adored her as well. One such recent example is her twenty-three-month-old namesake – Ruth “Della” McCoy, who adopted Ms. Della as her additional unofficial grandmother! In the Lord’s providence to take Della Mae Williams from her earthly tent to dwell with Him, she is survived by her niece – Barbara Milligan, nephews – Christopher Milligan and Bishop Milligan, as well as several grand nieces and nephews, aunts, cousins, and a host of other relatives. She was preceded in death by her parents, her grandparents – Lloyd and Beulah Richard, her brother – Ira Milligan, and her sister – Shirley Ann Milligan.

DELLA MAE WILLIAMS

August 7, 1955 - January 12, 2023